Latest update February 10th, 2025 7:48 AM
Guyanese woman’s body washes up on NY beach
Dead: Marisha Cheong
The decomposed body of a Guyanese woman identified as Marisha Cheong, who resided in Jamaica, New York, was washed ashore on a beach at Breezy Point, Queens New York on Saturday evening last.
Kaieteur News understands that Cheong, 24, who was last seen on December 19, was found clad in the same clothes she was wearing at the time of her disappearance.
The beach on which the Guyana-born woman was found, is located some 15 miles from where she lived with her reputed husband identified, as L.J Balkaran.
State Authorities had told US media operatives that there were signs of trauma on Cheong’s body, but the decomposition was so advanced that it isn’t clear if it indicates foul play.
Kaieteur News understands that Cheong’s hands may have been bound when she went into the water.
The cause of death remains a mystery, and officials say it could take several weeks for the medical examiner to make a determination.
Cheong’s disappearance touched off months of searching and her family and friends insisted that she hadn’t just run away.
The young woman had gone missing following an argument with her reputed husband who had told relatives that they had an argument. She was never seen or heard from since then.
The reputed husband also told New York media that he had a text argument the same day she went missing but he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Balkaran said that he was supposed to pick her up at a Forest Hills subway station on December 19, but she never showed up.
However, word is that Balkaran was taken into custody as the investigation has now become a homicide probe. The suspect is said to be a delivery truck driver who freelanced in the film industry.
The relatives said that the deceased had been making moves to sever ties with the now suspect.
Bibi Khan, mother of the deceased, had told CBS2 News in New York that the family had ‘no Christmas, no New Year as they prayed for her safe return.
Khan said that she spoke with her daughter on a daily basis and is devastated that her daughter has been found dead. A Facebook page had been set up to help find Cheong and a US$5000 reward was offered for her safe return.
Authorities had been looking for leads outside the area, but Cheong’s remains were found just offshore over the weekend. Cheong’s mother Bibi said, “I’m heartbroken. I don’t want to believe it’s true.”
Khan said she identified clothing and jewelry that belonged to her daughter on Saturday night.
As Khan now tries to figure out what happened to her daughter, she says she’s haunted by a text message she received right before her daughter’s disappearance.
“‘Mom I’m fine I just need a little time to think.’ She don’t usually talk like that; she usually says mommy,” Khan told Aiello last month.
Jenny Persaud, the best friend of the deceased, told US media that it wasn’t like her friend to just disappear. “She would never put us through that.” Also, she said that usually Cheong would call her but on the day of her disappearance, “she just text, which is really odd.”
Cheong would have been celebrating her 25th birth anniversary on March 14.
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